Sisters in Action

The Daughters of Charity at St. Louise House in Albany, NY have been raising funds to assist building a safe house for trafficked women in the area. The first event fundraiser was a pancake breakfast and 50/50 drawing.

This collaborative project began as the sisters listened to the personal dream of their invited speaker, Debbie Fowler. Debbie spoke of her years in Kuwait where her husband was on a work assignment. It was in that desert country that she learned of maids who had been lured there from their native countries. They had gone to obtain employment but quickly had their papers taken away, finding themselves working for little or no pay and being beaten and sexually assaulted. After volunteering in a shelter for these women, Debbie returned to New York and, upon further research, learned of the great number of women being trafficked just in the United States. That is when she decided to take action.

Debbie was brought to us to speak after meeting Linda Rivard, activities coordinator for the Albany campus of Daughters of Charity, during their time as volunteers at Her Treasure Box, a creative arts thrift store. The thrift store provides “creative arts with a purpose–to provide hope and healing” for women survivors of human trafficking.

I follow the anti-trafficking effort via our local Coalition to End Human Trafficking, which is made up mostly of faith-based and religious here in the Albany area. We are in support of both Her Treasure Box and Eyes Wide Open, another local start up. We are beginning to partner with the Homeland Security arm, The Blue Campaign, and other state agencies for the purpose of education via leafletting at public events and other options yet to be developed.

Recently, I attended the Ecumenical Advocacy Days 2018 which focused on the uprootedness of our world and the needs of our brothers and sisters who are migrants, refugees, or displaced people.

As people of faith, we can do more. We believe God is with Dreamers, the migrants, and the outcasts. We believe He calls us to create places of sanctuary to offer hospitality to the stranger and to welcome all, regardless of their faith, race, gender, or nationality. We believe he calls us to break down the dividing walls that separate us.

During these days, the emphasis was placed on analyzing current policy and envisioning ways to more fully and justly respond to the global and local needs of displaced communities. Through prayer, worship, advocacy training, and networking, we prepared and analyzed policy changes that advance hope and overcome the devastating impacts of conflict, climate change, and corruption of God’s people. We learned, through worship and theological reflection, how to strengthen our Christian voice and mobilize for advocacy on a wide array of domestic and international policy issues.

The interactive plenary sessions and workshops addressed specific issues on a global scale, including focuses on Africa, Asia-Pacific, Domestic US, Eco-Justice, Global Economic Justice, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, and Peace and Global Security. The conference includes a Lobby Day conversation with members of Congress and the Senate, during which we were placed in advocate groups based on geographic location. The legislative act around which this conversation was held was carefully prepared by policy experts to help us to articulate solid policy rooted in our common Christian social justice traditions.

Due to its geographic location, Venezuela is a major country for transportation of victims. However, due to the current economic crisis, it is extremely hard to capture traffickers. “When we investigate, we find that, in Venezuela, trafficking in persons is invisible like anything else that questions the prestige and effectiveness of public power. However, it is as real as any other crime of which they speak little. In fact, the country has been under international gaze and questioning since it does not openly declare the criminal cases that are investigated and processed in the country against this scourge.”

In front of this reality, the Daughters of Charity of the Province “La Milagrosa Bogota Venezuela” have begun a campaign against this evil and its invisibility. Currently in its second year of offering options for information and prevention, the campaign is called “Let’s Make Noise, Let’s Talk About Trafficking.”

During the first year of this campaign, the goal was to reach more than 3,000 individuals, informing them of the evil that is human trafficking. With support and participation from each sister and members of the Congregation of the Mission, the goal was met! This had never previously been done! They were able to develop a method to measure the decibels of noise created by their campaign.

Today, we can say that there are more places for dialogue on the topic of human trafficking. People have listened, many have made comparisons. Real cases have been shared along with significant experiences. It has been discussed with the most vulnerable people, informing them of the cases and immediate consequences.

Now, entering the second year of the campaign, the new goal is the reach the border states, including Merida, Tachira, and Maracaibo. These places are known to be home to a vulnerable population.

“The work is still incipient but we are firmly convinced that we are doing what we have to do. The more you talk about the problem, the more people can name and understand the methods and recruitment strategies. In the end, hopefully there will be fewer victims and life will be given and given in abundance.”

My goal for the Office of Migration and Modern Slavery is to educate the public about the issues surrounding human trafficking and migrants. Recently, I received a reflection written by Sister Teresa Daly, D.C., informing me of action items that she and others have implemented to learn more on human trafficking. Her example follows.

“We thank God everyday for the wonderful ISP (Ignatian Spirituality Project) team we have here in New Orleans. Together, we facilitate retreats for the women from the Grace House and other entities that provide recovery programs for women suffering from drug and alcohol addiction.

“For some of us, the topic of modern slavery has been on our minds and hearts for awhile.

“Our ISP team decided to sponsor a workshop on anti-trafficking and invited individuals who have also expressed an interest in this topic as well as a very knowledgeable speaker to address the group. Debbie Shjnskie, Director of the Archdiocesan Office of Respect Life, is helping us to focus a bit on this area. Our desire was to learn more and to deal with some questions such as: How do we know to suspect that someone might be being trafficked? What can we do if this is the case?

“All of us in attendance left this experience more aware and somewhat overwhelmed by the reality that trafficking is in our own society. We thought we need to learn more. This was the start of the idea to hold a day-long seminary on human trafficking that will take place in New Orleans on March 3. Our goal is to raise our own consciousness and awareness of this reality in order to do so for others too.

“As we continue with the ISP retreat program, we continue with hearts aware of this suffering in the lives of many and of our desire to include the victims and perpetrators in prayer.”

It encourages me to see others being proactive and learning more about these important issues. Please feel free to share with me what you have done or plan to do!

I’ve written before about my experience with those who are fleeing from the Northern Triangle. This trek is a question of life and death. It used to be that these people were coming to America to achieve the “American Dream.” Unfortunately, that’s no longer the case. Now, these people are coming to America to escape violence, gangs, cartels, and a cycle of poverty.

According to the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), in 2016 alone, the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol at the Mexican-American border stopped almost 47,000 unaccompanied minors and more than 70,000 family units fleeing from the Northern Triangle.

In order to serve this vulnerable population, we must be creative. Currently in San Antonio, when migrants are released from the Dilley and Karnes detention centers, Sister Denise LaRock, D.C., and others with the Interfaith Welcome Coalition and RAICES accompany them to the bus station where they will begin their journey across the United States to join family members and/or sponsors. Bags with food, toiletries, blankets, and other necessities are given to these migrants to help them on their journey. However, the most important thing the refugees receive is a white piece of paper. That white piece of paper has a map of the United States on one side and their travel information on the other.

Click here to read more about the work being done to help these migrants

In August, I attended the Seminario Continental Against Human Trafficking organized by Confederation of Latin American Religious (CLAR) in Bogota, Colombia. Seventeen Daughters of Charity from all different provinces of the Americas attended the seminar.

During our time together, we talked about awareness and the importance of the dignity of the human person. The main objective was to strengthen our networks for the defense of every life.

The dynamics led us to move from a global understanding of the phenomenon of trafficking, especially from the perspective of migration, to a biblical reflection to continue to reframe our different charisms around a new axis given by the cries of life and of the poor.

Following this conference, the Daughters of Charity Intercontinental Commission on Modern Slavery met at the Provincial House in Bogota to revise and complete the study we initiated in February 2016. This study came about after our General Assembly where we were encouraged to “share commitments to ending modern forms of slavery.” We were also encouraged to choose concrete commitment to ending modern slavery in each of our provinces, to increase networking, and to go out to the peripheries and to difficult areas.

Through a process of small and large group discussions, our ideas and plans were developed into a draft document. The document included specific content across three detailed areas: structure & communication, formation, and action & collaboration.

Each member shared with the group a couple specific points from the Seminario Continental Against Human Trafficking that stood out as being important to include in our present work against trafficking and for migrants.

The dynamics of welcoming, protecting, promoting, and integrating forced us to think strategically about new ways of acting against Human Trafficking and how to accompany migrants. We focused on how we could work together and with other groups to reach our goal as this is a collaborative problem that will require many individuals.

During my time in Palenque, a city in the southern part of Mexico, I visited one of the shelters for migrants run by the Daughters of Charity of the Province of Mexico. The needs of the individuals they serve was immediately clear.

Palenque, located some miles from the Guatemalan border, is on the route for immigrants fleeing from the Northern Triangle of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. Many of these refugees are traveling with the goal of reaching the United States. To do so, they must ride on the notorious Mexican freight trains, collectively known as “La Bestia” or The Beast. These machines have taken the limbs and lives of countless hopeful migrants. While the exact number is unknown, it is estimated that some 60,000 adults and children have died or gone missing along this route in the past couple of years.

In addition to the physical risks of the journey, the Mexican government has placed dozens of temporary immigration checkpoints in the Southern State of Chiapas to complement the large permanent checkpoints and detention facilities of the area. In this way, the Mexican southern border resembles that of the United States.

The Daughters of Charity living in Palenque run “La Casa del Caminante” (which translates to the House of the Walker), a shelter that welcomes refugees along this path. The shelter welcomes an average of 120 migrants each day, many arriving via La Bestia. Others arrive on foot, seeking a place to rest while waiting to board La Bestia.

Each of these refugees is physically exhausted and in desperate need of rest, food, and often healthcare. Between riding on top of La Bestia and walking miles at a time, they have been traveling day and night, sometimes for weeks. Many have nothing but the clothes on their back and their feet are almost always covered in blood. Not only are they seeking food and a place to rest, but they are in need of medical care and shoes.

While the majority of those arriving at the shelter are many, the Sisters also see many young women. Often these women are pregnant after being raped earlier in their route. Just yesterday, a family of five arrived in need of food and care. They are the lucky ones who are still traveling together, yet to be separated.

After my visit with these Sisters and those they help, I realized more than ever before, the struggles of these migrants. Truly, my heart is still in Palenque with them.